Max Oehler
Encyclopedia
Max Oehler was a German
army
officer
and archivist
for the "Nietzsche-Archiv." Oehler pursued his career in the German Empire
's military until the end of World War I
and the German November Revolution
. Under the Weimar Republic
, which he opposed, he served as an archivist in his cousin Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche
's "Nietzsche-Archiv" in Weimar
. After Förster-Nietzsche's death in 1935, he succeeded her as de facto leader of the Archiv. A devoted Nazi since the early 1930s, Oehler tried to popularize his national socialist view of Nietzsche. After the German defeat in World War II
, Oehler was imprisoned by Soviet
occupation forces and died c. March 1946 in an improvised prison in Weimar.
). His father, Oskar Ulrich Oehler (1838–1901), was a Lutheran minister and the brother of Franziska Nietzsche, Friedrich
and Elisabeth Nietzsche
's mother. Max Oehler's mother was Auguste Oehler (née Forst) (1847–1920). Like his brother Richard Oehler
, a librarian, and his cousin Adalbert Oehler, a low-ranking government official, Max Oehler became involved in Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche's "Nietzsche-Archiv
," which thus became sort of a family business.
Oehler married then 18-year-old Annemarie Lemelson in 1911, with whom he had several children. He also had an extramarital son from an affair in 1906, and in 1908 became the father of Tage Thiel, who was accepted by Swedish banker Ernest Thiel
as his own son. Whether Ernest Thiel knew that Oehler was the father seems not to be known.
. He then joined the Prussian Army
, although he also showed considerable interest in literature and especially music. He would often express to his cousin Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche a wish to work at her "Nietzsche-Archiv" someday. Nevertheless, his main interest was his career in the army, whose values he deeply admired. He was made Oberleutnant
in 1908, Hauptmann
in 1912, and was allowed to call himself Major
when he left the army in 1919. For a long time, he was stationed in Deutsch Eylau, today Iława.
He was granted leave from April 1 till December 31, 1908, to work at the Nietzsche-Archiv in Weimar
. In the summer, he travelled to Ernest Thiel in Stockholm
as Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche's emissary. Thiel, a banker and patron, had agreed to give a considerable amount of money for the founding of Förster-Nietzsche's "Stiftung Nietzsche-Archiv" (Nietzsche-Archiv foundation
), despite his being partly of Jewish ancestry. (Förster-Nietzsche had married Bernhard Förster
, an antisemitic agitator, but by this time had renounced antisemitism). During his time in Stockholm, Oehler fathered a child with Ernest Thiel's wife Signe (see above, "Family"). At the end of 1908, Oehler became a member of the new Stiftung's Vorstand
, or managerial board, on which he remained until 1945.
Oehler took part in the Battle of Tannenberg (1914)
early in World War I, but soon became unable to fight due to a case of sciatica
. He performed bureaucratic activities for the remainder of the war, first in Marienburg (Malbork
), and then at the Ministry of War in Berlin
. He had great faith in the possibility of a German victory and was shocked by the German November Revolution
. In the months following the war, Oehler stayed on at the Ministry of War and, together with other officers, tried to regain power from the revolutionary Soldatenräte (soldiers' councils, see workers' council
), whom he despised.
and went to work with Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche at the Nietzsche-Archiv, beginning in April. He settled first in Bad Berka
, and then in Weimar
. He was very deferential towards his much older cousin and soon became her "right hand". His family in a way also became hers, as she had long lost her brother and husband and had never had children.
In addition to Max Oehler, Förster-Nietzsche's "Nietzsche-Archiv" also employed Richard Oehler (Max's brother) and Adalbert Oehler (a cousin). The Archiv operated like a family business. They had all shared an opposition to the democratic
Weimar Republic
and had been more or less sympathetic towards the Conservative Revolutionary movement
and the rise of Fascism
. Max Oehler was especially favorable towards Benito Mussolini
, whom in 1925 he declared a true follower of Nietzsche. Nevertheless, Oehler and his wife were members of Hermann Graf Keyserling's anti-militarist "Schule der Weisheit".
In 1931, Oehler became a member of the Nazi party and hitched the Archiv's connections to the growing Nazi movement. Like Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche, he embraced Adolf Hitler
's rise to power. Hitler visited the Archiv on several occasions between 1932 and 1934.
After Förster-Nietzsche's death in 1935, Oehler became the de facto leader of the Archiv, which lost completely the character of a salon
: Oehler instead guided visitors such as students, soldiers and guests through the Archiv and tried to popularize his Nazi view of Nietzsche in speeches and essays.
Following Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche's death, it became known within the Archiv that she had forged
some documents and anecdotes relating to her brother Friedrich; this fact was not made public, however. In fact, Oehler seems to have publicly renounced only one of Förster-Nietzsche's legends: in 1937, he showed in an article that the Nietzsche family did not descend from Polish nobility, as was claimed by both Elisabeth and Friedrich Nietzsche himself on occasion. Oehler's conclusion is accepted as correct today, and was very much approved by Nazi ideology.
The United States Army
occupied Weimar
in 1945, at the close of World War II, and later handed the city over to Soviet forces. Oehler attempted to defend the Nietzsche-Archiv from the charge of having supported the Nazi regime, claiming that it always had been politically neutral. He could maintain that soldiers did not use the Archiv rooms, but the Soviet administration nevertheless froze all the Archiv's accounts. On December 6, 1945, Oehler was picked up by someone claiming to be Soviet interpreter. He never returned. As the family later found out, he had been sentenced to penal labour
in Siberia but had died, probably of hunger or freezing, in an improvised prison while still in Weimar.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
officer
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
and archivist
Archivist
An archivist is a professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to information determined to have long-term value. The information maintained by an archivist can be any form of media...
for the "Nietzsche-Archiv." Oehler pursued his career in the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
's military until the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the German November Revolution
German Revolution
The German Revolution was the politically-driven civil conflict in Germany at the end of World War I, which resulted in the replacement of Germany's imperial government with a republic...
. Under the Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
, which he opposed, he served as an archivist in his cousin Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche
Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche
Therese Elisabeth Alexandra Förster-Nietzsche , who went by her second name, was the sister of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and the creator of the Nietzsche Archive in 1894....
's "Nietzsche-Archiv" in Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
. After Förster-Nietzsche's death in 1935, he succeeded her as de facto leader of the Archiv. A devoted Nazi since the early 1930s, Oehler tried to popularize his national socialist view of Nietzsche. After the German defeat in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Oehler was imprisoned by Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
occupation forces and died c. March 1946 in an improvised prison in Weimar.
Family
Max Oehler was born in Blessenbach im Taunus (today part of WeinbachWeinbach
- Location :Weinbach lies on the Lahn and the Weil between Wetzlar and Limburg an der Lahn.- Neighbouring communities :Weinbach borders in the north on the town of Weilburg, in the east on the community of Weilmünster, and in the west on the community of Villmar and the town of Runkel .-...
). His father, Oskar Ulrich Oehler (1838–1901), was a Lutheran minister and the brother of Franziska Nietzsche, Friedrich
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
and Elisabeth Nietzsche
Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche
Therese Elisabeth Alexandra Förster-Nietzsche , who went by her second name, was the sister of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and the creator of the Nietzsche Archive in 1894....
's mother. Max Oehler's mother was Auguste Oehler (née Forst) (1847–1920). Like his brother Richard Oehler
Richard Oehler
Richard Oehler was a German Nietzsche scholar – an early editor of the philosopher's works, and author of Friedrich Nietzsche und die deutsche Zukunft , which has been characterized by Walter Kaufmann as "one of the first Nazi books on Nietzsche" Richard Oehler (27 February 1878, Heckholzhausen,...
, a librarian, and his cousin Adalbert Oehler, a low-ranking government official, Max Oehler became involved in Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche's "Nietzsche-Archiv
Nietzsche-Archiv
The Nietzsche-Archiv, also known as the Nietzsche Archive, was the first organization that dedicated itself to archive and document the life and work of the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche....
," which thus became sort of a family business.
Oehler married then 18-year-old Annemarie Lemelson in 1911, with whom he had several children. He also had an extramarital son from an affair in 1906, and in 1908 became the father of Tage Thiel, who was accepted by Swedish banker Ernest Thiel
Ernest Thiel
Ernest Jacques Thiel was a Swedish financier and art collector whose former villa in the Stockholm park area Djurgården today houses the Thielska galleriet...
as his own son. Whether Ernest Thiel knew that Oehler was the father seems not to be known.
Before 1919: In the military
From 1889 to 1895, Oehler was a student at PfortaPforta
Pforta, or Schulpforta, is a former Cistercian monastery, Pforta Abbey , near Naumburg on the Saale River in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is now a celebrated German public boarding school, called Landesschule Pforta...
. He then joined the Prussian Army
Prussian Army
The Royal Prussian Army was the army of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was vital to the development of Brandenburg-Prussia as a European power.The Prussian Army had its roots in the meager mercenary forces of Brandenburg during the Thirty Years' War...
, although he also showed considerable interest in literature and especially music. He would often express to his cousin Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche a wish to work at her "Nietzsche-Archiv" someday. Nevertheless, his main interest was his career in the army, whose values he deeply admired. He was made Oberleutnant
Oberleutnant
Oberleutnant is a junior officer rank in the militaries of Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Translated as "Senior Lieutenant", the rank is typically bestowed upon commissioned officers after five to six years of active duty...
in 1908, Hauptmann
Hauptmann
Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian and Swiss armies. While "haupt" in contemporary German means "main", it also has the dated meaning of "head", i.e...
in 1912, and was allowed to call himself Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
when he left the army in 1919. For a long time, he was stationed in Deutsch Eylau, today Iława.
He was granted leave from April 1 till December 31, 1908, to work at the Nietzsche-Archiv in Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
. In the summer, he travelled to Ernest Thiel in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
as Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche's emissary. Thiel, a banker and patron, had agreed to give a considerable amount of money for the founding of Förster-Nietzsche's "Stiftung Nietzsche-Archiv" (Nietzsche-Archiv foundation
Foundation (charity)
A foundation is a legal categorization of nonprofit organizations that will typically either donate funds and support to other organizations, or provide the source of funding for its own charitable purposes....
), despite his being partly of Jewish ancestry. (Förster-Nietzsche had married Bernhard Förster
Bernhard Förster
Bernhard Förster was a nineteenth century German teacher...
, an antisemitic agitator, but by this time had renounced antisemitism). During his time in Stockholm, Oehler fathered a child with Ernest Thiel's wife Signe (see above, "Family"). At the end of 1908, Oehler became a member of the new Stiftung's Vorstand
Vorstand
In German corporate governance, a Vorstand is the management board of a corporation. It is hierarchically subordinate to the Aufsichtsrat , as German corporate law imposes a two-tier board system....
, or managerial board, on which he remained until 1945.
Oehler took part in the Battle of Tannenberg (1914)
Battle of Tannenberg (1914)
The Battle of Tannenberg was an engagement between the Russian Empire and the German Empire in the first days of World War I. It was fought by the Russian First and Second Armies against the German Eighth Army between 23 August and 30 August 1914. The battle resulted in the almost complete...
early in World War I, but soon became unable to fight due to a case of sciatica
Sciatica
Sciatica is a set of symptoms including pain that may be caused by general compression or irritation of one of five spinal nerve roots that give rise to each sciatic nerve, or by compression or irritation of the left or right or both sciatic nerves. The pain is felt in the lower back, buttock, or...
. He performed bureaucratic activities for the remainder of the war, first in Marienburg (Malbork
Malbork
Malbork is a town in northern Poland in the Żuławy region , with 38,478 inhabitants . Situated in the Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999, it was previously assigned to Elbląg Voivodeship...
), and then at the Ministry of War in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. He had great faith in the possibility of a German victory and was shocked by the German November Revolution
German Revolution
The German Revolution was the politically-driven civil conflict in Germany at the end of World War I, which resulted in the replacement of Germany's imperial government with a republic...
. In the months following the war, Oehler stayed on at the Ministry of War and, together with other officers, tried to regain power from the revolutionary Soldatenräte (soldiers' councils, see workers' council
Workers' council
A workers' council, or revolutionary councils, is the phenomenon where a single place of work or enterprise, such as a factory, school, or farm, is controlled collectively by the workers of that workplace, through the core principle of temporary and instantly revocable delegates.In a system with...
), whom he despised.
After 1919: At the Nietzsche-Archiv
In 1919, Oehler left the military with the rank of MajorMajor
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
and went to work with Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche at the Nietzsche-Archiv, beginning in April. He settled first in Bad Berka
Bad Berka
Bad Berka is a German city, situated in the south of Weimar region in the state of Thuringia. With its almost 8.000 inhabitants Bad Berka is the second biggest city in Weimarer Land district . The river flowing through the city, which is embedded in new red sandstone, is called Ilm.Bad Berka is a...
, and then in Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
. He was very deferential towards his much older cousin and soon became her "right hand". His family in a way also became hers, as she had long lost her brother and husband and had never had children.
In addition to Max Oehler, Förster-Nietzsche's "Nietzsche-Archiv" also employed Richard Oehler (Max's brother) and Adalbert Oehler (a cousin). The Archiv operated like a family business. They had all shared an opposition to the democratic
Liberal democracy
Liberal democracy, also known as constitutional democracy, is a common form of representative democracy. According to the principles of liberal democracy, elections should be free and fair, and the political process should be competitive...
Weimar Republic
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
and had been more or less sympathetic towards the Conservative Revolutionary movement
Conservative Revolutionary movement
The Conservative Revolutionary movement was a German national conservative movement, prominent in the years following the First World War. The Conservative Revolutionary school of thought advocated a "new" conservatism and nationalism that was specifically German, or Prussian in particular...
and the rise of Fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
. Max Oehler was especially favorable towards Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
, whom in 1925 he declared a true follower of Nietzsche. Nevertheless, Oehler and his wife were members of Hermann Graf Keyserling's anti-militarist "Schule der Weisheit".
In 1931, Oehler became a member of the Nazi party and hitched the Archiv's connections to the growing Nazi movement. Like Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche, he embraced Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's rise to power. Hitler visited the Archiv on several occasions between 1932 and 1934.
After Förster-Nietzsche's death in 1935, Oehler became the de facto leader of the Archiv, which lost completely the character of a salon
Salon (gathering)
A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...
: Oehler instead guided visitors such as students, soldiers and guests through the Archiv and tried to popularize his Nazi view of Nietzsche in speeches and essays.
Following Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche's death, it became known within the Archiv that she had forged
Forgery
Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...
some documents and anecdotes relating to her brother Friedrich; this fact was not made public, however. In fact, Oehler seems to have publicly renounced only one of Förster-Nietzsche's legends: in 1937, he showed in an article that the Nietzsche family did not descend from Polish nobility, as was claimed by both Elisabeth and Friedrich Nietzsche himself on occasion. Oehler's conclusion is accepted as correct today, and was very much approved by Nazi ideology.
The United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
occupied Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
in 1945, at the close of World War II, and later handed the city over to Soviet forces. Oehler attempted to defend the Nietzsche-Archiv from the charge of having supported the Nazi regime, claiming that it always had been politically neutral. He could maintain that soldiers did not use the Archiv rooms, but the Soviet administration nevertheless froze all the Archiv's accounts. On December 6, 1945, Oehler was picked up by someone claiming to be Soviet interpreter. He never returned. As the family later found out, he had been sentenced to penal labour
Penal labour
Penal labour is a form of unfree labour in which prisoners perform work, typically manual labour. The work may be light or hard, depending on the context. Forms of sentence which involve penal labour include penal servitude and imprisonment with hard labour...
in Siberia but had died, probably of hunger or freezing, in an improvised prison while still in Weimar.